Russian director Aleksei Balabanov has made a number of excellent movies such as "Of Freaks and Men"; his "Cargo 200" is the darkest he's done. Set in '84, when the Soviet Union was at a very low ebb, it is a deceptively simple story of institutionalized brutality and the death of ideology. A young woman becomes the victim of a deeply disturbed police officer whose evil actions deliberately impact those closest to her. Tonally, this is as bleak as "Irreversible", "Pixote", or the Turkish "Journey of Hope". Balabanov directs with precision and economy, never wasting a shot or a gesture. The characters feel real and the situations emerge from instantly familiar situations. Popular music from the place and time is used to good effect. Sound effects work is incredibly rich and unnerving. Performances are all top notch. The "relationship" between the kidnapped woman and the police officer reaches dizzying heights of depravity when her dead boyfriend's corpse is thrown into the mix. We have characters so brutalized by the harsh realities of the past that the realities of the present barely touch their leather, delusional facades. Although the film avoids bloodiness on a grand scale, it contains disturbing instances of frightful violence.
Review of Cargo 200
